Water of Life – Joadja Whisky
Just when you thought that you got a grip on the Australian whisky scene and at least identified the cream of the crop when it comes to the production of quality hooch, another one pops up that blows things out of the water:
Located in the remote regions of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, Joadja Distillery was established five years ago by a Spanish family who honour their cultural heritage by using ex-Oloroso and PX casks to mature their emissions.
Despite being a new player, Joadja Distillery is already decorated with accolades and having had a chance to sample their Single malt Whisky 200 millilitre ex-oloroso cask, it comes to no surprise to me:
Clocking in at 48% alcohol by volume, this unpeated, non-chill-filtered and handcrafted beauty is based on the foundation of locally sourced barley and the pristine water from the distilleries on site spring.
Double distilled in copper pot still and then laid to rest in thirty-two litre ex-oloroso sherry casks that contained oloroso wine made from 50% PX and 50% Palomino grapes, what materializes in the bottle is heavily informed by the character of Sherry.
Stone fruits shine through the sweet aroma that further unfolds on the palate with a mouthfeel on the drier side of things, serenaded by chocolatey nuances and spicy components, which culminate in a heart-warming more-ish finish.
With a flavour that is reminiscent in some aspect of the excellent drops Limeburners produces, it is fascinating how quickly Joadja won me over and got me instantly excited about their future batches.
Further research revealed that they are also producing Dry Gin variants, Anis spirits and a new make going by the name of “Outlaw”.
Joadja is in impressive new player that is worth getting onboard with from the get go as what I have tasted is in the same league and reminiscent of other reputable whisky houses when they first started out and which have become veritable heavyweights on the parkours of the international scene producing coveted and highly sought-after world-class whiskies.
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photo provided
